This week The Texas Transportation Institute released its annual study on traffic growth in major metro areas of the United States.  In the “tell me something I didn’t know” category, it turns out Denver Metro traffic is getting worse, and it is getting worse faster than similar sized U.S. cities.  If you want to see the raw data backing up this claim, click here: Denver Congestion Tables

Some highlights from the study:

• Denver drivers used an EXTRA 42.5 Million gallons of gasoline due to traffic congestion in 2005.
• Denver has experienced higher than average congestion growth than other cities of similar size.
• Denver area commuters spend an average of 50 hours extra per year in their cars due to traffic congestion.
• Traffic Congestion cost the citizens of the Denver Metro area 1.2 Billion dollars worth of lost productivity.

If there was ever a time to arrange your life around a non-motorized two wheeler, it’s now.  My commute is always a breeze, I roll through my neighborhood, then onto the Cherry Creek bike path, and I’m at work and energized in 10 minutes.  And don’t get me started on parking… I park my wheels almost anywhere I want for free.  Talk about a bargain, the cheapest car parking in LoDo is $140 per month!  I can afford a lot of bike parts with the cash I save by not driving.  If you haven’t already, I highly recommend giving it a spin.

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